Is Giza worth a travel to Egypt? Part one
Hello,
today I would like to introduce you to a very controversial destination: Cairo city and its surroundings.
The Italian National agency rates Egypt as one of the least safe places in the Mediterranean and for the National security it isn't adviseabel to go there.
Said this, I have always wanted to see the pyramids with my own eyes and that's why we didn't follow their suggestion and organized a five-days tour to Cairo city.
So we booked our flights and found a reasonable accommodation in Airbnb. As we usually travel with our children, we found a convenient apartment at walking distance from the Pyramids and the sphinx, in the heart of Giza.
When we arrived we were warmly welcomed by the owner, a conscious and respectable man with bedouin origins who let us feel at home from the very first moment.
The apartment was well furbished and new, and it had two big bedrooms with two nice bathrooms... and with a little bit of fantasy, climbing the bedroom's window, we could admire the pyramids too!
This apartment cost about 100€ for five nights and breakfast was included. Of course we're talking of a true Egyptian breakfast with tea, flat bread, eggs, falafel, cheese, beans and eggplants, which our children absolutely loved, and that you'll love too if you're that kind of traveler who needs to feel close to others' culture… And Hosny, the apartment's owner, is a perfect host!
Our first day in Giza was incredible, as we didn't expect the city to be so chaotic and disorganized, the cildren were a little bit worried, and the first time we attempted to go to the Pyramids site on foot we hardly crossed the road, as there was a tumult of cars, vans, bikes, donkeys, camels and horses altogether!
Anyway we soon got used to it and we were ready to explore the area. We easily entered the Giza Archeological site, where we found ourselves in front of the magnificent sphinx.
After that we could get into a pyramid (the children had to stay outside, as inside the tunnels are too narrow and dark and they weren't allowed to come with us).
Having a private giude and a private driver had been the best option, as we were shown all sides of the area and could ride a camel too, without incurring in extra charges. Anyway this meant that at a certain point the owner of the camel made it run down a rocky descent to fasten the tour, but my youngest daughter said it had been the best adventure ever!
Later on that afternoon we drove to two other important sites. The first one is the Imhotep museum. Personally this is the best archeological site I visited in this area, I love the desert and being this place surrounded by it, I found it absolutely charming and fascinating. Moreover, as you can see from this photo, we were almost the only ones over there.
The museum isn't big, but I found it tidy and neat and the archaeological finds were all well arranged. Here we saw another small sphynx and many objects that were inside the crypts.
Just aside the museum what was expecting us was other marvellous things, the Pyramid of Djoser and of Userkaf, the Unas Complex, full of mystery and well preserved. All wonderfully kept in the Saqqara necropolis.
Coming to such a remarkable place makes you feel the greatness of the ancient empire and the great ability they had in modeling and sculpting.
I would have never returned to the apartment, but the children were tired so we eventually got back home.
Giza is a lively city and you won't have problems in finding restaurants. We accepted Hosny's suggestion and had a substantial meal in a typical tavern 5 minutes walk from our home. They were specialized in luscious kebabs and koshari. To try!
One more tip: tap water in Egypt is not drinkable, so try to avoid swallowing Nile's water, I think it's too hazardous. That's why we conceded ourselves soft drinks in cans only. Probably it isn't healthy either, but that's it!
This was just day one, stay tuned to know more about this travel!
today I would like to introduce you to a very controversial destination: Cairo city and its surroundings.
The Italian National agency rates Egypt as one of the least safe places in the Mediterranean and for the National security it isn't adviseabel to go there.
Said this, I have always wanted to see the pyramids with my own eyes and that's why we didn't follow their suggestion and organized a five-days tour to Cairo city.
So we booked our flights and found a reasonable accommodation in Airbnb. As we usually travel with our children, we found a convenient apartment at walking distance from the Pyramids and the sphinx, in the heart of Giza.
When we arrived we were warmly welcomed by the owner, a conscious and respectable man with bedouin origins who let us feel at home from the very first moment.
Anyway we soon got used to it and we were ready to explore the area. We easily entered the Giza Archeological site, where we found ourselves in front of the magnificent sphinx.
After that we could get into a pyramid (the children had to stay outside, as inside the tunnels are too narrow and dark and they weren't allowed to come with us).
Having a private giude and a private driver had been the best option, as we were shown all sides of the area and could ride a camel too, without incurring in extra charges. Anyway this meant that at a certain point the owner of the camel made it run down a rocky descent to fasten the tour, but my youngest daughter said it had been the best adventure ever!
The museum isn't big, but I found it tidy and neat and the archaeological finds were all well arranged. Here we saw another small sphynx and many objects that were inside the crypts.
Just aside the museum what was expecting us was other marvellous things, the Pyramid of Djoser and of Userkaf, the Unas Complex, full of mystery and well preserved. All wonderfully kept in the Saqqara necropolis.
Here our children could join us in the exploration of the inside of the pyramid, and what we saw was powerful. The pharaon who built this mega-mausoleum involved the best carvers who created for him a sesational after-life dwelling full of artistic incisions. The most incredible one was the ceiling made of starfish!
If you thought that the only pyramids existing in the world are those of Giza, you're wrong! They're maybe the biggest ones, but there are something like 130 edifices of that kind all around Egypt!
After our children spent some more time among the dunes that surround Saqqara, we were brought to another site, in Memphis. What's incredible about Memphis, is the beautiful garden where you can step into huge statues everywhere.
Coming to such a remarkable place makes you feel the greatness of the ancient empire and the great ability they had in modeling and sculpting.
Giza is a lively city and you won't have problems in finding restaurants. We accepted Hosny's suggestion and had a substantial meal in a typical tavern 5 minutes walk from our home. They were specialized in luscious kebabs and koshari. To try!
One more tip: tap water in Egypt is not drinkable, so try to avoid swallowing Nile's water, I think it's too hazardous. That's why we conceded ourselves soft drinks in cans only. Probably it isn't healthy either, but that's it!
This was just day one, stay tuned to know more about this travel!
